Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Guide
What
is
video?
Video
is
a
string
of
moving
pictures,
usually
combined
with
sound,
that
can
be
edited
to
tell
a
story.
Why
video?
Video
can
be
a
powerful
medium
for
storytelling
because
it
captures
motion
and
movement.
It
is
best
for
stories
with
strong
visual
components,
especially
action.
Video
can
convey
strong
emotions
quickly
to
viewers.
Why
not
video?
Video
has
problems
conveying
certain
types
of
information,
especially
stories
with
lots
of
numbers.
Viewers
attention
spans
are
limited
with
video
when
compared
to
print
stories
or
audio
pieces.
Video
is
the
most
complex
and
taxing
form
of
media
to
produce.
Editing
a
short
video
can
take
hours
and
there
are
technical
hurdles
to
overcome.
The
Components
of
News
Video
A-Roll
The
interviews
and
direct
film
of
actions
that
will
provide
the
skeleton
and
structure
of
a
news
story
B-Roll
Film
of
the
subjects
atmosphere,
actions
and
other
elements
that
will
be
used
to
cover
edits
in
A-Roll
and
to
provide
a
visual
interest
to
the
narration.
Natural
Sound
Sound
is
an
important
element
of
video
and
it
should
be
gathered
to
match
with
B-Roll
and
with
action-based
A-Roll
Narration
Some
news
videos
have
narration,
a
reporter
or
anchors
voice
reading
from
a
script
to
describe
what
is
happening
in
the
video.
Increasingly
online,
fewer
and
fewer
videos
have
narration.
Matched
action
Two
or
more
shots
from
different
angles
that
illustrate
one
action
or
parts
of
a
series
of
actions.
When
recording
in
the
field,
it
is
imperative
to
move
the
camera
often
to
collect
matched
action
shots
for
editing.
Sequence
A
series
of
matched
action
shots
is
called
a
sequence.
A
large
part
of
editing
is
creating
sequences
of
B-Roll
to
compress
the
time
an
action
takes
or
to
illustrate
a
full
action
of
the
subject.
Types
of
shots
There
are
essentially
three
types
of
shots
you
can
gather
while
recording,
but
the
look
of
these
shots
changes,
depending
on
the
context.
Wide Shot encompasses the whole scene and gives the viewer a sense of the environment. Depending on the context, a wide shot can be very wide, like a cityscape:
Medium Shot is an intermediate shot, good for showing interactions between people or people acting in their surroundings. Once again, what makes a medium shot depends on the context.
With people, it often shows your subject from the waist or chest up:
Tight Shot also known as a close-up. A tight shot will focus the viewers attention on some detail. Close ups are often the end result of sequences as shots often move from wide to medium to tight, but this is not a rule. Again, tight shots depend on the context. It could be a small part of something big.
Or it could be something very small and specific that you want to show your viewer.
Tight shots are the best type of shot to show a persons emotion, because they will allow a viewer to focus on the subjects face. Special types of shots Tight shots are also often used as cut-aways, a special type of shot that is very important in the editing process. A cut-away can be used to condense time or transfer between different parts of a sequence. Tight shots make good cut-aways
because they divorce the action from its context and allow time to pass without the viewer noticing. When filming interviews, you can also film cut-aways by taking a few seconds at the beginning of your interview to film your subjects feet or hands or a wide shot of them speaking. These types of cut-aways should be used as a last resort (Solid B- Roll is always preferable, but they are good to have.) Cut-aways dont have to be tight shots. You can also use very wide shots that dont allow your viewer to see the details of what the subject is doing. Another important type of shot is the establishing shot. The establishing shot is simply the first image you present the viewer in your video. It should give them a strong sense of the place and subject of the piece while also being visually compelling. Often, this is a wide shot. But this is not always true. Setting up the interview shot Its important to achieve a natural framing with the interview shot so the viewer will not be distracted. Remember to frame your shots using the rule of thirds:
This means, our interview subject should not be in the center of the frame but offset to one side. Their eyes should be above the center line and, ideally, placed on one of the green dots above, like this:
The space on the right is called look space or lead space. Your subject should always be looking into the frame. You should position yourself and your camera to achieve this framing. Finally, the location of your interview is important. Locate your subject away from windows to avoid backlight. Place them in the context of the story. If you are doing a story about a swimmer, interview them in front of the pool. Use available so it is on their face and not behind them. When shooting, match the way your eyes work. Eyes do not move smoothly from one image to next. Your focus shifts quickly from big pictures to small details. This is how we gather the information we need to avoid danger or assess situations. Your camera work should match the way eyes work. That means you should NOT use: Zooms a camera function that is editorial. Your eyes dont zoom. Pans moving horizontally across an image. Instead use a wide shot, followed by a medium shot of something in the picture. Tilts moving vertically across an image. Zooms, tilts and pans are attempts to make a boring image more exciting. It never works. Also, even when you are walking or riding in a bouncy car, your eyes process a smooth image. This means you should: ALWAYS USE A TRIPOD OR SOME FORM OF STABILIZATION
Tips for conducting a video interview 1. Ask your subject their name at the beginning, BUT ask it as a two-part question, i.e. What is your name and what is your position? or What is your name and what did you have for lunch? This will force your subject to state their full name as part of a sentence. 2. Ask open-ended questions. Asking specific questions that have a specific answer can lead to uneditable video. NO Q: How many people work for you? A: Fifty. YES Q: Can you describe your business for me? A: Well, we have fifty people working here The first is good for nothing. You have video of your subject saying the word fifty. The second is perfect for editing. 3. Ask questions multiple times in different ways. This will allow people to gather their thoughts. One version will always be clearer than the other. Types of News Stories The following are types of stories commonly used to put together a typical newscast. They all assume a reporter or anchor (person on camera in the news studio) is narrating the story using a script. Reader The anchor simply reads a script describing the story while the camera stays on her. There is often a graphic, called an over the shoulder or OTS. Voice Over or VO The anchor reads a story while b-roll gathered in the field is played on screen. Often 30 seconds. VOSOT stands for voice over sound on tape. The anchor reads a story over b-roll and then there is a quote, a piece of a-roll, timed to the narrators script which comes in at a predetermined point. Often 45 seconds. Package A package is the basic form of a TV news story. It is reported and produced by a reporter with their narration underneath. The anchor will read a lead-in or introduction to the story. Then, the pre-edited package will begin to play. A package is a collection of the best b-roll and a-roll with natural sound that the reporter gathered in the field.
Oftentimes, packages will include a stand-up, a shot of the reporter on-screen talking about the story. These stand-ups can provide a narrative bridge for some part of the story the reporter is missing. During stand-ups, the reporter should do something illustrative or interesting. Instead of stand-ups, many television stations now use live shots. The anchor will toss to a reporter in the field who introduces her own story. A package with a live shot at both the beginning and the end is called a doughnut. A Few Words About the Relationship Between Shooting and Editing When editing a news story, the images on the screen should match the words being spoken. Listen to your subjects and make sure to gather footage that matches the words they are saying. A typical shot lasts about four to seven seconds. When filming, you should set up your shot, press record, count to 10 and then stop recording. This will give you time on either side for shaky shots or out of focus shots. Edit as you shoot. Edit BEFORE you shoot. The more video you have, the longer it will take to edit. Think of the shots you need before you start shooting. Make a list and go get them. Things you MAY be able to fix in the editing process: - shots to dark or too bright - shots too long, need to be edited - bad sound (rarely) Things you CAN NEVER fix in the editing process: - shot out of focus - shot too short - no sound! and most bad sound - shaky footage Some differences between Web video and television Closer interview shots, bigger titles People watch Web videos on small windows in small laptop computer screens. To see your subject, you need to get close. Less narration
Web video tends to follow a more documentary style that allows the subjects to speak for themselves and leaves the reporter out of it. Of course, all television video also exists on the web. So this is not a rule, only a tendency. Music Lots of Web video tends to favor the construction and mechanics of movies. This means many packages have music underneath. No stealing! More creative framing and production There are less rules in Web video and often a more passionate audience. This means videographers have some room to experiment with framing and shot selection. Also, on the Internet, depending how you look at it, the deadline is always now, or there are no deadlines. This means that many web videos are longer and have more post-production values because the journalists are operating independent of the daily deadlines that television journalists face. What Makes for a Good Video Story Preparation Video requires more of both the journalist and the subject. Be prepared to ask your subject to take at least an hour out of their time to tend to your needs. Know what you want to get to illustrate the story. Make a list. Go get it. Check your equipment before you go. A Person Video stories are at their best when they can show emotion or tell a personal story. Video does not lend itself to telling big-issue stories, because they are difficult to illustrate. If you want to tell a big issue story, you need to tell it through one person or a few people. Visual Interest Its always better when the person does something that can be captured on film, something physical and visual. If the person sits at a desk all day, they will not make for good video. Conflict Stories require conflict to be good. This doesnt necessarily have to be war or fighting, but there needs to be some sort of struggle in the story to make it great.